Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $2.97 Million Position in Centene Corporation $CNC

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 31.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 72,195 shares of the company’s stock after selling 32,710 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. lifted its stake in Centene by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Burney Co. now owns 9,053 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 9,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 8.0% in the second quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Centene by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,785 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus upgraded Centene to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $41.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective (up from $38.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Centene from $48.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $57.65.

Centene Trading Down 3.3%

NYSE:CNC opened at $57.19 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $28.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $44.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.99. Centene Corporation has a 1 year low of $25.08 and a 1 year high of $60.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $3.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.23 by $1.14. The firm had revenue of $49.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $47.53 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 5.57% and a negative net margin of 3.25%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Centene Corporation will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Centene Profile

Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) is a diversified, multi-national healthcare enterprise that specializes in providing services to government-sponsored and national health programs. The company primarily acts as a managed care organization, delivering healthcare coverage and administering benefits for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicare Advantage, and individual marketplace plans. Centene also contracts with federal and state agencies to manage specialty care programs and community-based services for vulnerable populations.

Centene’s offerings extend beyond traditional insurance to include a range of specialty and support services.